Apalachee Regional Planning Council Establishes Resilience Collaborative in Florida Panhandle with Grant Support from American Flood Coalition
New initiative will strengthen communities across the Florida Panhandle as state implements historic Always Ready legislation to enhance resilience against higher seas, stronger storms, and more frequent flooding
WASHINGTON, DC — August 11, 2021 — The American Flood Coalition supported the creation of Apalachee Strong, a Florida-based regional resilience collaborative developed by the Apalachee Regional Planning Council (ARPC), with an initial grant. As Florida’s historic Always Ready legislation is being implemented across the state by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), this new collaborative will help cities and towns across the Panhandle advance adaptation efforts and support resilience projects, including the creation of a Regional Resiliency Action Plan.
“Water does not recognize city or county lines, so it is absolutely critical for leaders to take a regional approach to building resilience,” said Melissa Roberts, Executive Director of the American Flood Coalition. “We are proud to have funded this effort to create Apalachee Strong as the Panhandle community works together to meaningfully address flooding in the region.”
Through a $15,000 grant from Coalition, ARPC established the framework for the resilience collaborative and quickly gained unanimous support in the region from all nine Florida counties (Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Wakulla) and Tallahassee, the largest city within their footprint. With the devastation of recent storms like Hurricane Michael, coupled with increasingly frequent flooding and rising seas, the collaborative is a strategy to address resilience that has proven to be effective across the state.
“Working with AFC has put the Apalachee Region and its local governments in a strong position to leverage funds made available by the Florida Legislature as well as other funding sources,” said Chris Rietow, Executive Director of ARPC. “Apalachee Strong will serve as a catalyst for resiliency projects for years to come.”
Based in Tallahassee, ARPC is one of ten regional planning councils in Florida, providing technical assistance and support to communities across a range of issues, including economic development, emergency management, and resilience planning. With the establishment of Apalachee Strong, ARPC joins other parts of the state collaborating regionally on resilience.
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About the American Flood Coalition
The American Flood Coalition is a nonpartisan group of cities, elected officials, military leaders, businesses, and civic groups that have come together to drive adaptation to the reality of higher seas, stronger storms, and more frequent flooding through national solutions that support flood-affected communities and protect our nation’s residents, economy, and military installations. The Coalition has over 260 members across 21 states, with more than 110 members from Florida.
Cities, towns, elected officials, businesses, and local leaders wishing to join the American Flood Coalition or read more about the organization’s work can visit the Coalition’s website (www.floodcoalition.org) to find out more.
